2 added to WSCC board

June 17, 2014

Washington State Community College welcomed two new faces to its Board of Trustees Monday after Gov. John Kasich made the final appointments with approval from the Ohio Senate in May.

Lowell resident David Vandenberg, the vice president of Pittsburgh-based Microbac Laboratories, an environmental analytical testing company, and Marietta resident David Tenney, the director of Tenney & Associates, the largest locally-owned CPA firm in the Mid-Ohio Valley, both were sworn in to the board to serve six-year terms.

Shoshanna Brooker, Davis Powers and Ken Schilling all recently left the board after fulfilling their term limits, and the two filled positions mean that Kasich must still choose one more to fill the remaining vacancy.

"It is very important to make the connection locally between education and employment, and that's why I found my way here," Vandenberg said. "I think the experience I have serving on area boards like the career center and Fort Frye is what got me to this point."

Vandenberg has several decades of experience with his company, as well as serving previously on the Washington County Career Center and Fort Frye Local boards.

He also has volunteer experience with organizations like United Way of Washington County and the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce.

Tenney, who has been with his company nearly 25 years, also is an active member of Marietta Morning Rotary Club and is treasurer of the Hippodrome-Colony Historic Theatre Association.

"Accessibility to a quality education in this area is really important to me, and that's what drew me to this board," Tenney said. "That sums up what I'm looking forward to, but right now I'm in the learning process, learning how everything works here at Washington State."

State law regulates the governor to appoint members to all public institutions of higher education, with boards comprised of nine to 15 members depending on the type of institution.

Currently, with the appointments of Vandenberg and Tenney, eight trustees sit on the board, and Kasich can make the ninth appointment at any time.

"I'm confident they will both be excellent board members and I really look forward to having them with us," said WSCC President Bradley Ebersole.

Under Ohio Revised Code, trustees do not receive compensation except to pay for expenses required to serve on the board, and board members are required to be residents of the area that the college serves.

In addition to the swearing in of the two new trustees Monday, the WSCC Board of Trustees also:

-Announced the replacement of the roof for the main campus building, which will be paid for with the $900,000 allotted by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission with a $300,000 match made by the college's own funds. Further plans have yet to be announced.

- The board received updates on the final counts for summer enrollment, where WSCC fell 3 percent short of its set budget goals, with a total of 570 enrolled out of the goal of 587.

- The board received updates on the counts for fall enrollment, where WSCC is currently at 72 percent of its goal for head count at 947 out of a goal of 1,512. The school still has the summer months to await for additional students to enroll.